Moving On

We've had a busy week here in Babyland. It marked Micah's first cold and looking back it wasn't too bad. The big thing was sleep, or lack thereof. We had been getting on a great nighttime schedule, but that went out the window for five or six days as my poor little guy couldn't breathe so well.

I quickly found out that there's not much you can do for a simple cold. They took decongestants for infants off the market, so basically it's a waiting game with comfort measures. We spent the duration of the cold suctioning the ever-flowing boogers, humidifying his room, propping up his crib mattress so he could breathe better, steaming up the bathroom while Micah was in it, giving him some Tylenol for those aches and pains (he never spiked a fever), and of course he received extra love and attention from his aunties and uncles and grandma and grandpa because of his pitiful state!

By the end, Micah was able to suction his own nose...almost. And I know the first comment someone will make will be about the suction bulb being in his mouth so you can ease your mind with the knowledge that IT HAS BEEN CLEANED :)



He tried the grape-flavored Tylenol, but I saw there was a dye-free kind after I had already purchased the grape. We will be getting the dye-free next time!

Two big indicators enlightening us to the fact that he really was sick: he let us hold him like a baby (cradle position) and he fell asleep that way (he did this first with Auntie Kristina) and he let us rock him to sleep, which we have never been able to do. So while it was sad seeing him cough and hearing his stuffy nose, it was very nice getting in some extra cuddle time.

And now, he is all better for the most part and is sleeping so well again. However, Daddy is sick, Mommy has a little cough, Grandma and Grandpa are feeling under the weather, and Grandma Rita has a scratchy throat. The culprit? Probably Micah!

And I'll give you a hint: it wasn't me. This is how Micah was brought to me on Sunday morning. Let's dissect. Micah wears a sleep sac to bed (the red part of this "outfit"), but it's just that--a sac--so it doesn't have separate leg compartments. D said he needed to put Micah in the exersaucer while he was making breakfast, so he just unzipped the sleep sac and put on the pants you see. And since it was too hard to walk five steps to the closet to get socks, David simply put on the mocassins my grandma got him that were already on the changing table. However, they only stay on with socks at this point, which is exactly why one of them is missing... I'm trying to think of how to end this, but I am simply speechless and I think the pictures will speak volumes:

Most of the time it's a marathon from the time Micah wakes up from his last nap (between 5:00 and 5:30pm) until his bedtime at 8pm. He wants to go to sleep a few hours after he wakes up, but if he does, he'll be up more at night and just have an overall poor quality sleep. We discovered this valuable tidbit after playing around with his nighttime schedule for a few weeks.

All that to say that, in an effort to keep Micah awake and relatively happy, D pulled out one of the many Dr. Seuss books we have and managed to get through an entire reading of Green Eggs and Ham. Here's a snippet:

You might have noticed that Micah is pantless. That, too, is a tool in our Distract Micah Kit. It's very weird how much this child LOVES being naked...or even half naked!

It's about that time again! We just went to the doctor's for Micah's four-month well-visit, so I have the aforementioned official stats. In the last four months, he has gained 8 lbs 2 oz and grew 5 1/2 inches.

Our little man has been doing a lot these past few months and he gets a lot done since he doesn't know how to stay still! We borrowed/bought a Bumbo seat, an exersaucer, a swing, and a bouncy seat in the past month to keep him entertained. They are lifesavers! He is always active: grabbing, chewing, watching, following whatever is going on around him. He's figured out how to roll over from tummy to back and has almost made it from back to tummy, though he's still practicing that move. He's also learned how to blow raspberries and does so at very inopportune times (like while eating or when I ask him to say "hi" to someone).

He cut two teeth in two days last week and has been a much happier baby since then. I think he had been teething for the past few months, poor guy, and he's found some relief. Someone joked that he can start eating meat now. He's not eating meat, but we did start him on squash. The cereal didn't seem to agree with him, so we stopped that. He really likes the squash and it seems to agree with him. He has also started to sleep so much better, almost 12 hours, at night. Not sure if the food has anything to do with it, but whatever it is, we are grateful for a good night's rest!

Other items of note:
* He is now wearing 6-9 month clothing, and barely fitting into the 6 month outfits.

*He loves to get medicine from a dropper. We have this game that I suction his tongue and cheeks and lips and he just thinks it's the coolest game ever. I give him homeopathic anti-gas tablets that need to be dissolved in water, so whenever we think gas is the culprit, he gets to "play" with the dropper.

*I showed him one time how to grab his feet/toes a few weeks ago and they are his new favorite toy. When the pants come off, the legs go up and the socks usually come off shortly thereafter. So, when he's on his back, this is the position we usually find him in:


*He always has pointer finger in the back of his mouth, chomping on it. However, he will put your finger front and center in his mouth...exactly where his two new [sharp] teeth are! My kid is no dummy!

*It might sound weird, but I've always said how much I love his "nursing" face. Not sure exactly how to describe it, except he's just so peaceful and relaxed and I get to see him from an angle that I don't usually see. Now, he's added rubbing/scratching his head to the mix while eating. I think it's more of an involuntary motion, which makes it cuter, but he's starting to get those fine motor skills down (he rubs his eyes and nose now, too!).

I'll leave you with a picture of my two handsome men:

D's mom got Micah this cute bath towel for Christmas. The one we usually use was in the wash, so I got this one out and couldn't resist taking a few pictures. The above picture is how I saw him after his daddy gave him a bath. We made some adjustments and thus the picture below.

I was commenting to Dad the other morning at breakfast how much Micah likes crinkly things. There's this fish on the exersaucer that has a crinkly tail which he is always putting in his mouth and either sucking or chewing on. Dad was getting some cereal and the minute Micah heard the crinkle of the bag, he whipped his head over to the noise and started reaching for it (Dad was across the kitchen). A series of events would eventually lead to the making of this new crinkly toy by Dad (aka Grandpa). He pulled out the sewing machine and some extra fabric, sewed three sides, stuffed the crinkly part (the top half of a chip bag) inside, and sewed up the last side. Something similar would have probably set me back at least $6 or $7 since I wouldn't get it used, but five minutes and zero cents later, Micah has a new favorite toy!

Thanks, Grandpa, you're the best!

He started doing this a few weeks ago. And at very inopportune times, too: "Micah, how's our little man?" *raspberry* or "Say hi to Uncle Ryan, Micah!" *raspberry* Oh well. It's cute for now. He tends do it a lot when he has things in his mouth (which I guess is because he always has something in his mouth!), so it comes out more as a spit and then a glob of drool, but as you can see, he has it pretty much mastered!

I've started Micah back on solid foods, but am steering clear of all types of cereal for now. I'm going straight to fruits and veggies, well veggies and fruits, in hopes of curbing his appetite. Actually, he's on a much better feeding schedule than the first two/two and a half months of his life. He'll eat at least every three, if not 4 or sometimes 5, hours and it'll only take him 10 minutes tops. Now compare that with his prior eating schedule (eating 40 minutes every two to two and a half hours) and you have one happy mamma!

Anyway, that yellowish slime that you see all over his face is butternut squash and he seems to enjoy it very much. I started him with a few tablespoons of the veggie on Friday and am giving it to him once a day around midday. I have a whole little plan etched out on my kitchen calendar, but after a few days (to be sure he's not allergic) I will start him on pears. Then, I'll add more variety, like peaches and prunes and peas and avocado. After a few weeks, I will try adding a hint of cereal to the fruits and veggies and see what that does. I'm using jarred (organic as much as possible) food for stage 1, but plan on making my own baby food when he's able to handle thicker substances. I just don't want to have to worry about getting the puree to the right texture so he won't choke -- it'll be more time than it's worth. I found a really good homemade baby food website and am excited about starting the process: for health and money-saving reasons!

I can't believe how quickly he is growing up. He is such a big boy, with two teeth and eating solid foods!

Here's that better picture I promised...
Breaking news! Ha, get it? Anyway, Micah's bottom right tooth broke through on Monday night (4 months, 4 days) after much chomping and knawing and drooling and fussing. It's a sharp little thing and I'm not looking forward to the biting days, but he is going to look so cute with those two bottom teeth!! And not to be left behind, his bottom left tooth broke through on Wednesday night (4 months, 6 days). I was keeping an eye on it because I thought I would see some white right next to the one we could feel, and sure enough it made itself known shortly after the first.

I tried to get some good pictures, but this is the best I could do for now. I noticed that when he's crying, I can see them really well, so I'll try to get some pictures then :)

I have been meaning to visit this baby's/children's secondhand store called Once Upon A Child for a few months now. I've heard only great things about it, but never have had the chance to go until yesterday. The closest one to us is in Bristol and Mom and I (and Micah) were doing some errands out there yesterday, so I was finally able to see what the big attraction was. Auntie Kristina and Uncle Nick met us there and entertained the little man while Mommy shopped...quite grateful for that, thanks guys!

They have clothes and toys and toys and clothes from wall to wall, back to front. They have baby furniture and swings and Bumbo seats and rocking horses, anything and everything with which you could possibly want to cloth and to entertain your child. I had such a blast in there!!! Mom bought a changing table for $40 and a plush toy car that Micah can sit in for her house. And I bought 19 pieces of clothing for...$19! They were having a Fall/Winter clothing clearance, each piece a dollar if you buy ten or more (and my sis-in-law gave me a coupon on top of it!). Most of the stuff I got him was from Gymboree, The Children's Place, and Sonoma. I got some winter stuff for now and some winter stuff for next year. What an amazing store! I'm borrowing a swing, an exersaucer, and a bouncy seat from Micah's cousin Ari (thank you SO MUCH, Sara and Tony!!), but if I wasn't, they have all of that stuff there for very reasonable prices. Needless to say, I'll be doing most of my cloth/toy shopping there (that is, when Janie and Jack is too pricey!).

Mom informed me that it was exactly one year ago today that D and I video chatted with her and dad for the purpose of telling them that we were expecting in September. One year later, this is what we have...

This is how we usually see Micah now. Always reaching for something. And it's all one motion, grabbing whatever comes across his line of sight and putting it on a preprogrammed path to his mouth. He's gotten so good at it that he can be looking at you, see something out of the corner of his eye, reach for it, never break eye contact, and put the object in his mouth.

Patience is the key to watching this next video. You'll see what I mean...

Micah is rolling over like a champ now. Whenever I put him down for a nap, he rolls over before I can get the covers to cover him up. He's so quick. And he'll roll to both sides, too. He doesn't go from his back to his belly yet, so he'll get stuck on his back (which makes it difficult when trying to put him down for his naps!). He's learning things so quickly, it's fun to watch the new things he's learning almost on a daily basis. At this rate, he'll be in kindergarten by age 3. Next time, next time we'll get our baby. For now, we're enjoying Micah's infancy and toddlerhood together!